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Not all feel welcome to Jacksonville mayor's interfaith breakfast

Friday's sold-out event has detractors from 2 different fronts.

Mayor Alvin Brown says he is planning to host more religious-themed events.

The decision to begin hosting what he hopes will be an annual prayer breakfast was an easy one for Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown: "Many of our leaders attend houses of worship. Many people in community look to the faith-based community for help in a lot of areas."

Other mayors have attended interfaith gatherings, but Brown said it's important for him to host what City Hall is calling Inaugural Mayor Brown Interfaith Celebration.

"I know I wouldn't be where I am if it wasn't for my faith in God," he said. "I'm blessed, I'm humbled and honored."

That breakfast, scheduled for 7:30 a.m. Friday, already has sold out, the administration said. Some 500 tickets sold at $25 each, which will cover the city's cost.

Brown's plans have received some pushback, though, from two different fronts: those who take issue with city government hosting a faith-based event and those who think the interfaith nature of the event is problematic of itself.

"The mayor is leaving a lot of people out," said Earl Coggins, founder of the First Coast Freethought Society.

"It's sad that he doesn't look at his constituency and realize one out of six people are not affiliated with religion."

And some of those who are religious have related concerns.

It's not as though such events wouldn't exist without government sponsorship, notes Susan Greene, an active churchgoer and Brown supporter who urged the mayor to "err on the side of caution when it comes to civic sponsored religious events."

"If one's faith is the mainstream, if it has government endorsement, that almost weakens it," she said.

On the other side of the coin, as one emailer to the mayor said, "I am opposed to the interfaith message of tolerance to every belief which in essence is very intolerant to my own as a Christian."

Still, the event has garnered a range of support, even from some not always known for reaching out to other religions.

The breakfast fits into another part of Brown's message, as well: The importance of public-private partnerships. Among the conversations Brown said he hopes to take place at Friday events are religious organizations sharing how they work on issues like homelessness and education.

Brown sees the value in working with groups tackling such issues, said the Rev. David Holladay, pastor of Riverside Baptist Church and an advocate on homelessness issues.

"Anytime the faith community can come together that's a positive thing," he said. "There's a number of things in this city, that affects the city, that the faith community is working on."

That's one reason, Brown said, the breakfast is important. "It makes a difference when we all work together," he said.

And Friday's event isn't the last religious-themed event Brown plans to host. This summer, he said, he's hoping to have "Faith, Family and Fun" days in parks throughout the city.

"I see this," he said, "as the beginning of something I'm going to do throughout my administration."